Advice From a Newbie No More

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

Adina Chuang-Howe recently wrote a great blog post titled "Advice from newbie to newbie", in which she gives some advice to her younger and not-yet-computationally-proficient self:

1. Commit (and stop whining)
2. Use the right tool for the job
3. Take Command
4. Install and use a text editor
5. Learn to manipulate files
6. Shortcuts!
7. Learn a programming language
8. Become addicted to print statements (I'd actually say "...to a debugger", but never mind)
9. Do something relevant
10. Start automating

and most importantly of all: "You can do it!" The full article is great advice to anyone who's getting into computing, scientific or otherwise, and well worth reading.

Which raises the question: what advice would you give your younger self?